Mixing Things up for a Sweater
words and photos by: Johanna Carter
I always admire those who are able to spin mountains of yarn for a big project, ready to knit a wonderful sweater or cardigan. It is a satisfying feeling when you finish all that work, especially if you started with washing and combing the wool or even raising your own sheep.
Mixing spinning and knitting
The typical way to work through a larger project is to spin all the singles first and ply them in a particular order so you get the yarn even throughout the whole project. I don’t have so many bobbins, but my bigger problem is that I am quite impatient and want to get on with knitting once I have an idea. And normally, my brain is full of ideas for fibre work and the limit is the time, as I am a musician and teacher. I can’t sit at the spinning wheel for a long time if I’m not on holiday, so during the school year I mostly knit, and during the holidays I can dye, spin, use my drum carder, and do lots of fibre work. The only time I was able to produce bigger quantities of yarn before I knitted them up was during the Tour de Fleece in the two years during the pandemic, when we did not go on holiday at the beginning of July.
A highly photogenic collection of naturally dyed fibres.
I like to finish knitting one big project like a sweater or cardigan before I start the next one, or at least until I can’t carry it in my bag easily anymore, so I have an excuse to begin the next one. Sometimes it is good to have a second project on the go – I call it mindless knitting, where I don’t have to look very much – which I can keep my hands busy during Zoom or other meetings, which helps me listen.
Mixing colours and fibres
Usually I dye my yarn with plants which I collect in the woods or get from garden flowers. I also use cochineal and indigo, which I buy, to get lots of different colours. I really love the greens and blues I get from dyeing with indigo. I have lots of dyed wool, and all those colours give me inspiration for further projects.
Beautiful greens and blues dyed by the author using indigo and other natural dyes.
Blending the wool on the drum carder I can get even more shades. I like to blend with fibres like silk, alpaca, or plant fibres, and I love sari silk, to get those little bits of colour in my yarn.
Fibres of different types and colours are blended on a drum carder for elegant results.
When I have an idea for the next sweater, I start carding, and then I can begin to spin. Once I have spun enough yarn – say, for one day – I cast on and start knitting, usually top down, so I don’t have to decide too much in advance about length and width.
An idea for the author’s next sweater in the gathering stages.
When I spin on my wheel, I have to sit at home, but while spinning I can read a book or talk to others during online meetings. I also like to spin on my spindles, and that works on a walk, or a museum visit. I take them on holiday as they don’t need much space, and when I spin for a lace shawl, I don’t even need much wool either. At home there are spindles all over the place; I can spin when I am waiting for the kettle to boil, when the computer is slow, when I am cooking. Like that I can make good use of a short time and the yarn still grows.
Knitting as soon as the yarn is spun helps the author complete sweater projects in a timely manner.
I can take my knitting almost everywhere, which is why I don’t want to wait to get started until I have spun all the yarn for a whole sweater. I knit at home, on the bus or train. The only thing I have to make sure of is to be one step ahead with the yarn.
I love to knit Fair Isle sweaters. My favourite method is to use only one bobbin, which I don’t even fill, because I need smaller quantities of lots of colours. Then I wind a ply ball and ply it on itself. For that I put my thumb through the ball, so I can tension the two singles with my fingers and they don’t get tangled, as long as my thumb (or a cardboard roll or a pencil) stays in the middle. I don’t have any leftovers from plying, and it is quick when I suddenly need more yarn.
Several charming sweaters dyed, spun, and knit by the author.
I have never had problems with the yarn not being consistent enough throughout a project. I just know what yarn I want and my fingers seem to remember what to do. I am sure it is good advice to have a little card tied to the spinning wheel with a bit of the singles you are aiming for, so you can check and make sure you are spinning a consistent yarn.
Mixing breeds
There are so many different breeds, but some of my favourites are Shetland, BFL, and Jämtland – a Swedish breed. After dyeing them, I often forget what I have used, so when I do a new project it often turns out that I have used different breeds and fibres just to get the right colour. For the Fair Isle knitting I want to juggle lots of colours, which is more important to me than making a sweater out of only one breed.
Recently I made a pullover for my husband using about 12 different breeds and colours, even mixing short and long draw. For me it was a breed experiment and a way to use up lots of smaller quantities of wool I had in my stash. For that sweater I used combed top without blending.
Mixing in knitting during the spinning process is a wonderful way for a spinner to avoid being overwhelmed during a sweater project.
My feeling is that some people don’t dare to start spinning for a bigger project because they get overwhelmed by the quantity they have to spin and then all the knitting there is to do, especially when you want to spin the yarn entirely on spindles. Mixing the spinning and knitting for the same project is more interesting; you get more variety and more freedom to choose what you want to do next as long as you don’t run out of yarn. It breaks the project down into smaller, less daunting parts. The only thing you might want to plan is to have enough fibre at the start, but even that is not necessary, there is always a sheep growing more wool.
The Beauty of Farm Blend Roving
words by Jacqueline Harp | photos by Susan and Patricia Harp
If you want to reach another level in spinning fibers, check out a farm blend roving! Farm blend roving is a woolen preparation made with two or more types of fiber. Typically available in small batches, it can be either hand processed or professionally milled. What makes it special, however, is that it comes from small fiber farms, making it a truly artisanal spinning fiber. It provides a fiber adventure that varies from year to year and place to place. Let’s look at farm blend roving from four different farms, and experience the smorgasbord of fun and delight for the adventurous handspinner.
Let’s Meet Our Farmers
This article would not be possible without the generosity of the four shepherdesses who produced the rovings we are enjoying here today. It is important to recognize that each braid of roving represents the hard work and creativity of four women who are dedicated to the care of their fiber-producing animals.
Arlene Vasquez of Wild Wool Farm LLC, Tacoma, WA. Because Arlene has a passion for heritage breeds, she raises many sheep breeds: Navajo Churro, Icelandic, Jacob, Border Leicester, Lincoln, Wensleydale, and Black Welsh Mountain. Her farm blend roving is a splendid combination of color, sparkle, and softness. Incredibly, her roving contains seven different fibers: Navajo-Churro, BFL, Merino, milk fiber, Angelina, and sari silk. The soft, downy undercoat from Arlene’s Navajo-Churro sheep – a dual-coated, rare heritage breed – lends a hint of resilience and elasticity to the blend.
Heidi Dennistoun of Dennistoun Farms, Arlington, WA. Heidi raises a flock of Border Leicester sheep. She hand processes much of her own raw fleeces whenever time allows. Her farm blend roving is a cheerful mix of natural chocolate brown Border Leicester and bright red Firestar. These fibers are highly lustrous, making a very glossy and glitzy blend.
Jami Beintema of Cooke Creek Sheep Company, Ellensburg, WA. Jami raises a flock of Texel, Border Leicester, and Coopworth sheep. Jami is a resourceful shepherdess, fiber artist, and certified wool classer who can find a use for almost every part of her sheep’s fleeces. Her farm blend roving is elegantly indie dyed with multiple shades of purple. The wool from two different sheep breeds are blended in this roving: Border Leicester and Coopworth. These sheep have many fleece traits in common, allowing this blend have a generous staple length (over 4 inches) and a soft yet strong handle.
Sheri Powers of Wind Dance Ranch, Ellensburg, WA. Sheri raises a flock of Border Leicesters, Bluefaced Leicesters, and Gotland sheep. Her farm blend roving is beautiful, plush, and naturally cream colored. All four sheep breeds found in Sheri’s flock are featured in this wool blend. The roving has a subtle, satin-like glow, and it feels luxuriously thick when squished.
Spinning the roving
I spun Heidi’s, Jami’s, and Sheri’s rovings in the same manner from start to final yarn. I pre-drafted each roving to give me more control over the fibers. I spun the rovings woolen, using a long, backwards draw. I used the slowest ratio (5.5:1) on my spinning wheel to spin the singles to avoid overtwisting the yarn. I then plied each batch of singles from center-pull balls to make balanced 2-ply yarns, using a medium speed ratio of (7.5:1). I washed my freshly spun yarns in a warm, soapy water bath and rinsed them in water of the same temperature. Once the yarns were rinsed, I gave them the “whack” treatment against the edge of my sink to set the twist and hung the yarns to dry. The resulting yarns were fluffy and had the slight halo that makes woolen style spinning so wonderful!
Arlene’s roving had a large amount of texture, and I felt the best way to harness that texture was to make an art yarn. Thus, I spun Arlene’s roving into woolen thick-and-thin singles, with a short forward draw. To avoid overtwisting the yarn, I used the slowest ratio (5.5:1) of my wheel for spinning the singles and plying. I then plied those singles using a commercial silver-nylon thread with sequins. I bathed the yarn in cold water to set the twist, squeezed out the excess water, and hung the yarn to dry. The result of the spin was a fantastic flame-style art yarn. I was struck at how the color combination was reminiscent of the look of the clouds in the Pacific Northwest at the beginning of a storm, with the silver thread flashing like hints of lightning and the sequins falling like delicate raindrops throughout the yarn. It really showcased the potential of using a farm blend roving to spin art yarn.
Where do you get it?
You can start your fiber quest for farm blend roving by exploring local yarn shops, fiber arts festivals, or handspinning guilds, whether in person or virtually. You can also look at breed associations or search your favorite social media platform, such as Instagram, to find farms which raise fiber animals and contact them directly.
Farm blend roving guidelines
1. It should contain fibers from animals raised by the producer of the roving.
2. It is a woolen fiber preparation.
3. It can be hand processed or professionally milled.
4. It can be a unique mix of protein fibers, plant fibers, and/or synthetic fibers.
Tips for choosing farm blend roving
Choosing farm blend roving is subjective and depends on the needs of the handspinner.
It may be helpful to ask yourself the following questions: Is there a particular color I am drawn to? Does the texture or feel of the fibers speak to me? Have I already spun most of the fibers individually and want to try them spun together? Am I looking to try fibers that are new to me?
Be aware of the possible presence of some vegetable matter in farm blend roving, but don’t panic. It should fall out as you spin it. Also, make sure you have enough for your desired project. A farm blend roving is like a yarn dye lot – unique and irreplaceable. In terms of fiber volume, I find that 8 ounces of farm blend roving is enough for most small to medium spin projects (e.g., mittens, hat, or shawl).
Using it
There are many ways to use yarn spun from farm blend roving; however, to help me find the right project, I like to use the softness of a yarn after finishing as a guide. For example, a soft yarn can be used for next-to-the skin projects like cowls. A medium-soft yarn can be used for hats or mittens. A coarse yarn can be used for outerwear like a vest or socks.
Note: If a yarn spun from a farm blend roving does not work for your intended project, chances are high that the yarn you spun will be so gorgeous that it could be used “as is” to decorate your studio!
In conclusion
Take a step off the beaten path and partake in an exciting spinning experience that also helps fiber farmers continue to care for their fiber animals. Go forth – imagine and create handspun yarns from farm blend roving that you will treasure. Don’t forget to use the tag #inspiredbyPLY on your social media channels so others in the spinning community can admire your projects and be inspired!
Jacqueline Harp is a freelance writer and multimedia fiber artist who spins, felts, weaves, crochets, and knits in every spare moment possible. She is also a certified Master Sorter of Wool Fibers through the State Univ. of N.Y. (Cobleskill) Sorter-Grader-Classer (SGC) Program. Her Instagram handle is @foreverfiberarts
PLY Magazine believes that Black lives matter, as well as LBGTQI+ lives. Those most vulnerable and persecuted in our communities deserve our love and support. Please be good to each other.
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Served with a Twist
words and photos by Meagan Condon
Just as there is art and science in spinning yarn, there is art and science in the mixing of cocktails. My husband and long-time partner Steve has always had a passion for mixology and got his bartending certificate in 2015. It goes back to his roots in chemistry. “I find it frustrating that people separate taste from knowledge and science,” he told me. “I see it as a craft and I treat it as such. That’s what I find rewarding.”
I swear I had absolutely no ulterior motives when I signed Steve up for bartending school – I didn’t just do it so I could have a live-in bartender to hand deliver Aperol Spritzes and Rob Roys to me at my spinning wheel. Pure intentions, I promise! What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was along for the ride and I learned that my own passion for material sciences would find me perusing his class notes and practicing pours. It was a natural progression for me to start pairing drinks with fiber arts.
Here is a list of classic cocktails and the best fibers to serve with them! For those who don’t drink, there are nonalcoholic alternatives for most of the cocktails listed below. Either way, you may find you need a cupholder accessory for your wheel going forward.
| Fiber | Fiber qualities | Cocktail qualities | Cocktail |
| Medium to fine wools | reliable go-to, 90% of what is in your stash right now | as classic as a cocktail gets, smooth, rich, boozy | Old Fashioned |
| Dual-coated wools | two or more fibers with different qualities, usually a longer hair fiber and a shorter undercoat | bright, citrus flavor with distinct layering, sweet and acidic | Tequila Sunrise |
| Down wools | lofty and resists felting | fizzy, citrus with a spicy bite | Moscow Mule |
| Silk | smooth, lustrous, drapey fiber that brings strength with its long staple | creamy, anise-flavored shot, goes down smooth | Slippery Nipple |
| Angora | luxurious, warm, with a fuzzy halo | light, refreshing, sweet, acidic, and smooth | Fuzzy Navel |
| Cashmere, yak, or qiviut | ultra fine, short staple, very warm | warm, spicy, soothing | Hot Toddy |
| Flax, hemp, and other bast fibers | strong, very long staple, softens with use | long, strong, a hot mess of a drink, but beloved by many | Long Island Iced Tea |
| Cotton | short staple, wicks moisture, breathable | a shot with distinct layering, looks good, goes down easy | B-52 |
| Alpaca, llama, or camel | fine, warm, drapey | sweet, spicy, warm | Mulled Wine |
| Mohair | long, lustrous, strong, resilient | boozy, beautiful, strong, James Bond’s drink of choice | Vesper |
| Dog or cat | soft, warm, off the beaten path | refreshing, acidic, sweet, minty | Mojito |
| Angelina, Firestar | all things glittery | bubbly, refreshing, elegant | Mimosa |
If all of these manage to miss the mark and you’re still looking for the perfect drink to put next to your wheel, I’ve got a custom cocktail that might just do the trick; try the Niddy Noddy! My personal bartender – I mean husband – approves! This variation on a classic fizz combines the malty flavor of scotch whiskey with citrus and herbal undertones for a mellow aperitif with a touch of foam. It pairs well with salty snacks like cheese, pretzels, or nuts. If a niddy noddy doesn’t sound like something that will make you tipsy, I don’t know what does!
Niddy Noddy
2 oz scotch whiskey
1 oz lime juice
¾ oz simple syrup
sprig of fresh thyme
1 egg white
club soda
citrus peel to garnish
In a shaker, muddle lime juice, simple syrup, and thyme. Add 3–4 ice cubes, scotch, and egg white. Shake vigorously for 45 seconds. Double-strain into a chilled tumbler glass and top with club soda. Citrus twist to garnish.
Note: Don’t try to substitute dried thyme in this cocktail. Not only is it not potent enough to transmit the flavor, but there is nothing sexy about bits of herbs stuck between your teeth.
Egg whites are a traditional method to add a frothy texture and foam to cocktails. For those who fear raw egg whites, have an egg allergy, or are vegan, try substituting aquafaba (chickpea juice) for the egg white. You can also find information about egg safety in cocktails at CocktailSafe.
If you do imbibe, do so responsibly, friends. There’s only one wheel you should get behind while drinking and that’s your spinning wheel! Never drink and drive, but feel free to drink and draft all you want!
What cocktail did we miss that you think belongs on this list?
Bio
Meagan Condon is a librarian and fiber artist. With more than a decade of spinning experience and a focus on digital connection, she teaches spinning in person and online and live streams to a diverse community of spinners. You can follow her at luthvarian.com.
PLY Magazine believes that Black lives matter, as well as LBGTQI+ lives. Those most vulnerable and persecuted in our communities deserve our love and support. Please be good to each other.
Did you know we also have a monthly PLY newsletter? Sign up here!
Did you know we also have a monthly PLY newsletter? Sign up here!
PLY Vlog: July 2022
In this edition of the PLY Vlog…
Jacey and Jillian talk about the Goat and Mix issues of PLY. Jacey spills Goat Drama, in which we learn that you should never try to work with goats in the world of magazine photography, because they will absolutely cause chaos wherever they go. She also reveals some recent Goat Drama in relation to Mohair and crimp (fun fact alert!). Jacey also demos the strength of plied yarns.
Jillian demos the EEW Yarn Counter (she’s a little obsessed) and talks about the back issues available and her current mission to index the magazine.
There is a Loft Issue preview, and chat about some great PLY Away changes.
Did you know that both Jacey and Jillian have spinning Patreons?
Watch the vlog and join in on the fun!
PLY Magazine believes that Black lives matter, as well as LBGTQI+ lives. Those most vulnerable and persecuted in our communities deserve our love and support. Please be good to each other.
Did you know we also have a monthly PLY newsletter? Sign up here!
Did you know we also have a monthly PLY newsletter? Sign up here!
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